B.C. reports 317 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths over the weekend

B.C. recorded 317 new cases and six deaths due to COVID-19 over the weekend, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday (Sept 14).

Broken down by the day, there were 137 new cases reported from Friday to Saturday, 119 cases from Saturday to Sunday and 61 from Sunday to Monday.

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Four of the deaths took place in Fraser Health, one in Vancouver Coastal Health and one in Northern Health, the latter region’s first death due to the pandemic. The woman who died in Northern Health was in her 70s and died in hospital after attending an event in the community.

That brings the total number of cases in B.C. since the pandemic began to 7,279, while the death toll has reached 219.

There are currently 58 people in hospital, 16 of whom are in ICU. There are 1,594 active cases and more than 3,000 people are under public health monitoring.

“As we get more cases, the chances of getting spillover into people who are more vulnerable… is going up,” Henry said, as hospitalizations rose by nine people over the weekend.

Henry issued a warning for British Columbians to “hold the line” as daily case counts continue to average above 100.

“We need to go back to our basics now,” she said, noting that celebrations this fall will need to be scaled back.

She said the wildfire smoke has made it difficult to spend time outdoors, which has been the standard advice to help slow the transmission of COVID-19. Wearing a tight fitting mask is recommended for people spending time outdoors, while vigorous exercise outside is to be avoided.